Chapter 495: Chapter 483: The Final Gift

This was Allen’s twenty-seventh year in Aiselan.

Four years and eleven months had passed since his audience with the Moonlight Level Wizard.

Only one month remained of the five-year term.

「Cybertron, Command Center.」

Seated on a golden throne, Allen slowly opened his eyes. Deep within them, countless intricate Runes swirled like a river of stars before settling into stillness.

["Artificial Soul" final evolution model construction complete.]

["Humanity Algorithm 2.0" final compilation complete.]

["Consciousness Upload" related soul data collection target exceeded by 117%.]

Jarvis reported the research progress item by item.

The Allen Network, Puppet technology, mineral resources, legion upgrades, tens of thousands of Alchemy patents that gathered Aiselan’s top minds, and the Dawn Star Level knowledge gained from that meeting...

The returns from twenty-seven years of operations had far exceeded his initial expectations.

’I’ve now fully experienced the benefits of having a stable territory.’

Resources, population, a testing ground, an industrial system.

’Given enough time, a territory can snowball, providing a continuous stream of nourishment for a Wizard.’

’A pity this place will never truly be mine.’

’Still, Aiselan’s value has been mostly wrung dry. The path to the Morning Star realm is just ahead. It’s time to leave.’

Allen looked up and called out his cultivation panel.

[Cultivation Progress:]

[1. Core Matrix (Second-level Wizard stage): 7/8]

[2. Mind Sub-threads: 15/16]

[3. Core Witchcraft: 2/3]

He had already completed seven of the eight Core Matrixes for the Second-level Wizard stage.

At his current pace, it would take another two years and seven months to inscribe the final Core Matrix, completing all his training for the Second-level Wizard stage.

Then, he could attempt to inscribe his third Core Witchcraft, "Consciousness Upload," and ascend to the Dawn Star Realm.

’At that time, I, Allen Wesren, will finally be qualified to conquer a territory of my own.’

"Recall all external Golem units."

Allen closed the cultivation panel, his voice calm.

"In five days, we are evacuating from Aiselan."

[Command confirmed.]

[Global asset recovery program initiated.]

Inside the command center, light screens lit up one after another.

Tens of thousands of Golems, warships, mining units, and Demon Eyes were added to the recovery sequence.

The settlement for twenty-seven years of operations had officially begun.

Before leaving, there was one last person he needed to see.

...

「Golden Stone City, the Royal Palace.」

Inside the council chamber, William Aislan was looking down, reviewing a military report.

The impulsive young Prince of yesteryear was long gone.

Over two decades on the throne had left their mark upon his brow.

The short beard on his chin was trimmed with perfect precision, taming the last remnants of his youthful sharpness.

’The first, second, and third battalions of the Steel Legion have completed their preparations.’

’After being equipped with ’Warrior Type-1’ combat armor, the individual combat strength of an Alchemy Warrior has reached the standard of a Level-4 Spirit Mage.’

William finished the last line of data and closed the military report, a flash of pride in his eyes.

This was a new combat force forged from Aiselan’s own ore, factories, and soldiers.

Just then, the air before him shimmered, and a figure appeared in the center of the council chamber without any warning.

Black robes, black hair, and eyes as remote as a star-filled sky.

"Guardian!" William shot to his feet, waving away all his attendants.

"I have come to say farewell," Allen said, getting straight to the point.

The smile on William’s face froze. His lips moved as if to say something, but in the end, only a strained question emerged:

"Has the kingdom done something wrong?"

"Or has our development these past few years not met your expectations?"

In all these years, Allen had barely made any public appearances.

’But his influence is in every corner of the kingdom.’

’The Alchemy University, the Steel Legion, the Spirit Communication Towers, the automated mines, *Sword Art Online*...’

’All of Aiselan is hurtling down the path he laid out.’

’No one ever imagined that the Guardian would one day leave.’

"No, you have done very well." Allen’s gaze swept over William. "It is simply that my mission’s term has ended."

"But can’t the term be extended?"

William couldn’t understand. "My Lord, if you are willing to stay, all of Aiselan, including myself, the bloodline of House Aislan, can be..."

"William," Allen interrupted him.

He looked at this King he had personally propped up, at the sincere pleading and deep fear in his eyes.

Through him, Allen seemed to see fifty-two million vivid faces.

’They toil in the fields, fight on the coastal defenses, and sweat in the factories, firmly believing they are heading toward an unprecedented golden age.’

’Unfortunately, it is all an elaborate lie.’

Allen knew that once he left, it wouldn’t be long before the Endless Sea, which had been quiet for nearly five years, would once again unleash a Beast Tide that blotted out the sky.

The "scythe" of that Moonlight Level Wizard would swing down again, harvesting these promising "crops" and forcing them to continue evolving.

He could even foresee this magnificent, white, giant city returning to the blood and fire of thirty years ago.

’Tell him the truth?’

’Tell him that your kingdom, your enemies, and even the kingdom’s Guardian you rely on are all just experiments and tools for a more powerful existence?’

’Meaningless.’

’It would only destroy their last shred of fighting spirit and hasten their demise.’

A sliver of pity gently stirred in the depths of Allen’s soul, which had nearly transformed into a vast ocean of data.

"My path does not lie in Aiselan."

Allen’s voice was devoid of any emotion.

"I came from a place far away, and I am heading to a place farther still."

"The future of Aiselan, in the end, must be decided by you."

He raised his hand. A Rhombic Crystal, shimmering with an eerie blue light, materialized out of thin air and floated before William.

"This is the last thing I am leaving for you."

William took it instinctively.

"What is this?"

"A... seed."

Allen said, "Its name is ’One.’ It is a non-corporeal artificial intelligence that can maintain your Spirit Communication Towers and also connect to your Alchemy Factories."

This was the second-generation artificial soul he had cultivated—a prototype of a Workshop’s Will, branded with the mental imprint "Safeguard Aiselan Civilization" as its highest directive.

A final gift.

And also, the cruelest form of "hope."

With "One," Aiselan would not collapse immediately when the next Beast Tide arrived.

The Spirit Communication Towers would continue to operate, the Alchemy Factories would continue to produce, and the Steel Legion would be able to replenish its losses more quickly.

They would hold out longer.

They would also bleed more.

More people would evolve on the brink of death, becoming the "high-quality specimens" that the Moonlight Level Wizard required.

’But survival has its price.’

All Allen could do was leave the choice to them.

William looked down at the crystal, his hand tightening around it.

He bowed deeply to Allen, remaining bent over for a long time.

When he finally raised his head, the space before him was empty.

...

「The next morning.」

「Western front, Fifth Defense Sector.」

The commander of the Royal Army legion stationed there stood at the camp entrance, checking the time for the third time.

By convention, the Guardian’s Spider Slayers should have completed their first patrol before sunrise.

But today, there was no movement on the coastline.

"General..."

A soldier suddenly raised a hand and pointed into the distance.

The commander followed his soldier’s finger, and his expression froze.

On the first line of defense, the tide of steel that had been stationed there for years was moving.

But they were not advancing toward the Endless Sea.

Two hundred Spider Slayers retracted their weapons and began moving on their segmented legs.

One hundred Peacekeepers formed neat squares, turned, and marched to the rear.

On the ground, a massive Space Gate opened without a sound.

All the Golems entered it in sequence.

There were no farewells, no pauses.

It was as if a long-written program had finally reached its last step.

Further away, a shadow fell over a large section of the camp.

The commander looked up.

The Hive mothership, like a floating mountain range, was ascending.

The vessel rose higher and higher, until it disappeared into the clouds, never to be seen again.

"Where are they going?"

The voice of the soldier beside him was dry.

The commander did not answer.

The same scene was playing out simultaneously in ten defense sectors along the seven-hundred-kilometer coastline.

Within the kingdom, thirty-four automated mines ceased operations.

Workshop servitors set down their tools.

Mining Golems marched in formation out of the deep mine shafts and into temporarily opened space portals.

The mechanical roar that had persisted for over twenty years faded away, bit by bit.

Miners stood on either side of the tracks, watching the last Mining Golem depart.

No one spoke.

For the first time, they discovered how unfamiliar the mines were when they fell silent.

At the edge of the atmosphere, the Sky Throne that had been suspended for twenty-seven years began its descent.

The network of Demon Eyes spread across the continent and outer seas disconnected one by one.

The three flight squadrons responsible for air patrols rendezvoused over Golden Stone City after completing their final handover.

The Storm Falcons and Freedom Gundams formed an arrowhead formation and shot toward the east.

SONIC BOOM! SONIC BOOM!

In the blink of an eye, they vanished over the horizon.

The Guardian’s power was receding from every corner of Aiselan.

Soldiers rushed out of their barracks.

Farmers put down their hoes.

City dwellers flooded onto the streets and rooftops.

People looked up at the suddenly empty sky, then toward the coastline no longer defended by Steel Giants.

Not until every Guardian unit was unreachable through the Spirit Communication network, not until every one of the steel figures that had accompanied a generation was gone,

did the people of Aiselan, slowly and belatedly, realize what was happening.

Their kingdom’s Guardian was leaving.

On the eastern outskirts of Golden Stone City, Allen took one last look at the great white city bathed in the morning light.

On a palace balcony, a tiny figure was gazing in his direction from afar.

[Real-space dimensional anchor disengaged.]

Under the incredulous gazes of the city’s millions, Cybertron—the city of steel that had stood like a miracle for twenty-seven years—began to turn ethereal.

The towering black walls that scraped the clouds, the menacing defense towers, the enormous dome... everything became like a reflection in water, rippling in a faint breeze and gradually dissipating.

When the last corner of the last structure vanished into an invisible rift, the spatial ripples smoothed over, and the world returned to silence.

All that remained was a bottomless crater, as if silently testifying that a god had once lingered here.

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